Monday, November 7, 2016

Episode 341 (11-7-16): For Veterans Day 2016 – The U.S. Air Force, Including 100 Years on Virginia’s Coast

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-4-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 7, 2016.

SOUND – ~ 11 sec

This week, that sound of a World War II-era plane during Military Appreciation Day at the Virginia Tech football game on September 17, 2016, opens our focus on the U.S. Air Force, in honor of Veterans Day on November 11. Have a listen for about 30 seconds to that service’s familiar anthem, played by the Air Force Band.

MUSIC - ~ 31 sec

The U.S. Air Force became a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on September 18, 1947, but perhaps its earliest historical roots were the use of balloons during the Civil War. In 1892, the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps organized a permanent balloon section. That evolved into an Aeronautical Division in 1907, the Army Air Service in 1918, the Army Air Corps in 1926, and the Army Air Forces in 1941, the last precursor to today’s Air Force.

Virginia’s Hampton Roads area and its waters are a significant part of the Air Force’s past and its present. In 1916, when the federal government was seeking to purchase open, flat land near water for its first aviation research and testing facility, it chose 1650 acres of forest, wetlands, and agricultural land between the branches of Back River, a Chesapeake Bay tributary in what was then Virginia’s Elizabeth City County, now adjacent to the City of Hampton. Starting in 1917, the Army Air Service and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics—the predecessor of NASA—constructed Langley Air Field; 100 years later, the facility is Langley Air Force Base, occupying over 3100 acres between Hampton and NASA’s Langley Research Center. Since 2010, Langley Air Force Base has been part of a joint base with the Army’s Fort Eustis in Newport News, and together the facilities support between 15 and 20,000 active-duty personnel and civilian workers.

Thanks to Air Force veterans and current personnel everywhere for the service and sacrifices, past, present, and future. We close with another few seconds of the Air Force song.

MUSIC - ~ 18 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“The U.S. Air Force” (instrumental), informally known as “The Air Force Song,” was taken from the United States Air Force Band Web site, online at http://www.usafband.af.mil/recordings/. The Web site states that the Air Force makes this and other recordings available to the public for certain purposes, including educational activities.

PHOTOS

Three historical photos from Virginia’s Langley Field, then Langley Air Force Base. Upper: Observation balloon over Langley Field in 1925. Middle: Runways at Langley Field in 1941. Lower: Rescue boat tested in the Chesapeake Bay off Langley Air Force Base in 1953. All photos taken from Langley Air Force Base/633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs, “A Century of Airpower/Langley History,” online at http://www.airpoweroverhamptonroads.com/langley-history (photos on that Web site are available for public use, according to that office, 11/7/16).

“In 1938, Liberty magazine sponsored a contest for a spirited, enduring musical composition to become the official Army Air Corps song. Of 757 scores submitted, the one composed by Robert MacArthur Crawford (1899-1961) was selected by a committee of Air Force wives. The song (informally known as "The Air Force Song" but now formally titled "The U.S. Air Force") was officially introduced at the Cleveland Air Races on September 2, 1939. Fittingly, Crawford sang in its first public performance.”

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.8 – economic, social, and political transformation of the United States after World War II, including role of U.S. military.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.4 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.13 – U.S. foreign policy since World War II, including the role of the military.

Government Course
GOVT. 12 – role of the United States in a changing world, including responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and national security.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2015 Social Studies SOLs, which become effective in the 2017-18 school year:

Virginia Studies Course
VS.1 – impact of geographic features on people, places, and events in Virginia history.
VS.9 – how national events affected Virginia and its citizens.

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.8 – economic, social, and political transformation of the United States and the world after World War II, , including role of U.S. military.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.4 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.13 – U.S. foreign policy since World War II, including the role of the military.

Government Course
GOVT. 12 – role of the United States in a changing world, including responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and national security.

Welcome to Virginia Water Radio

This site includes audio files featuring sounds and music that relate to Virginia’s waters, from the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, which is solely responsible for the show's content. Thanks to George Wills of Blacksburg, Va., for designing the Virginia Water Radio logo.